


Families are Made (With the Toughest Bricks Around)

by LSims



Series: Parenthood is a Battle (But I'm Willing to Fight it) [1]
Category: Bandstand - Oberacker/Oberacker & Taylor
Genre: Adoption, F/M, Family Fluff, Fluff, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-14
Updated: 2020-04-14
Packaged: 2021-03-02 03:28:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,977
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23648479
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LSims/pseuds/LSims
Summary: Donny and Julia realize their life isn’t quite complete. Their decision is controversial, both for themselves and others.
Relationships: Donny Novitski/Julia Trojan
Series: Parenthood is a Battle (But I'm Willing to Fight it) [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1811341
Comments: 6
Kudos: 20





	Families are Made (With the Toughest Bricks Around)

“Mornin’ Donny.” Julia Trojan-Novitski greeted her husband as she entered the kitchen one early April morning. 

“Mornin’.” 

Julia poured herself a cup of coffee and sat down to read the paper. “Did you sleep well?” She asked Donny.

“I slept okay.” 

“Well, okay is better than not at all,” she replied with a small smile. “Are we busy?’’ 

“No, why?’’ Donny asked. 

“No reason, I just have to...do something.” 

Donny raised an eyebrow but didn’t question it further. 

Later, Donny was sitting at the local bar, drinking with his friend, bass player, and fellow vet Davy Zlatic. 

“So she wouldn’t tell you?” Davy asked. 

“Nope,” Donny answered. “It was weird. It’s not like Julia to be all secretive like this.” 

“You don’t think she’s—” 

“No,” Donny replied firmly. “No. Julia would never cheat,” Though, in all honesty, the thought had crossed the man’s mind. He’d only been married to Julia for a little over a year and had known her for not even thrice that. Donny couldn’t blame Julia if that was what she was up to. He wasn’t exactly an easy husband. And he _certainly_ wasn’t Michael. He wrestled the thought out of his mind and focused his mind on working on a new song for his band, _The Donny Nova Band Featuring Julia Trojan_. It was that night that he found out exactly what his wife was up to.

Julia practically ran home from the bus stop. She had so much to tell Donny, and she knew she’d burst if she kept this from him any longer. Still, Julia knew this wasn’t going to be an easy conversation. It certainly hadn’t been easy when she had it with herself. She opened the door and found her husband sitting at the piano, playing around with various tunes. 

“I like that last one,” she said, smiling. “It sounds like something a father would sing to his daughter on her first day of school.” 

“Mmm,” Donny replied, not hearing his wife’s words. Julia sighed. She knew better than to interrupt Donny when he was just in his own world, and she _certainly_ wasn’t going to interrupt him when he was working on music. And so she simply put up her coat and got started on dinner. 

“When’d you get home?” Donny asked, smiling at Julia as he entered their kitchen. 

“An hour ago. You were at the piano so I just went ahead and got started.”

“Sorry.”

“It’s fine Donny, there’s no need to apologize for working hard.”

He smiled and it widened when he smelled his wife’s cooking. “What’s that?”

“Deviled chicken, I told you I was making it yesterday.”

“Oh, yeah.” Donny grinned and curled his arms around Julia. “Make sure to keep the top on the paprika this time.” 

Julia laughed and wrestled her way out of his grip, swatting him with a towel. “Oh, save it for my mother.”

The couple sat in silence for a few moments before Donny broke it. “You’re awfully quiet tonight.”

“What?” Julia said. “Oh, well, I’ve just been thinking.”

“About?”

“Our life.”

She knew she couldn’t beat around the bush any longer.

“Alright, well, you know how I’ve been going out a lot recently?” 

“Yeah...” 

“Well, I’ve been thinking about things, and—”

“I knew it, you’re leaving me, aren’t you?” 

“What? Donny, no! I want—”

“You want to have a kid?” Donny asked.

“No, I, well—I want to adopt a child.” 

“You—what?” 

“I want to adopt a child,” Julia repeated, turning to look at her husband imploringly. Donny stood there in shock, trying to process what Julia was saying. He finally answered after what seemed like an eternity

“Look, Julia, I-I’m not entirely against this idea, but I—what about just trying for one ourselves?

“And I think you’re forgettin’ somethin’ here. We’re in a band, half the time we’re on the road. How are we supposed to balance a kid and that? Plus, I won’t deny that I’ve thought about children, but I figured it would happen later on, once we’ve really settled.” 

“I know, and I do see why you would prefer to have our own child, and all your points are valid, but, I want a child Donny, _really bad_. I want to take a break from touring, just for another year or so, and I want to have a _family_.”

“The guys are our family.”

“I never said they aren’t! They _are_! But I want to raise a child with you. I want to watch you be a father, to watch you check under their bed for monsters, hold their hand as you walk them to their first day of school, cheer them on at their high school graduation, embarrass them when they bring home dates, and cry when you walk them down the aisle. And I want to do all those things too, _with you_.”

Donny looked at his wife and hugged her. “Hey, it’s okay Jules. It’s alright.” They met each other’s eyes. “I want to do all those things too, and I’d be honored to do them at your side. And, I can’t say taking a long break from touring wouldn’t be great. I have to ask though, why are you so insistent on adoption?”

Julia sighed and sat down at the table, a faraway look in her eyes. “I...Michael and I tried, to have a baby, back in thirty-nine. We tried a _lot_ , and we were never successful. Eventually, we went to a doctor and turns out I can’t have children. I got in a really bad bicycle accident when I was ten, and it permanently damaged my ovaries.”

She was crying again, and Donny held her. “Shh, shh it’s okay.” He assured her. “I’m so sorry Jules.”

“It’s fine.” She said, getting up to add the liver sausage into the food processor. “It’s honestly a good thing we didn’t have a baby, seeing how everything turned out.

“Besides,” she added “I should’ve known it never would have worked out with a guy who’s nickname is ‘Rubber.’”

They both laughed, and Julia added in the rest of the ingredients, pulsing them till they were all a smooth Pâté. She spread the dish onto pieces of rye bread and, after Grace, they ate.

“So, I assume you’ve been making trips to ParmaDale?” Donny asked after taking a sip of his water.

Julia smiled. “Yes.”

“Were there any ones that stood out to you?” 

Another smile. “A girl. She’s ten and named Sara.”

“I’ll bet she’s wonderful,” Donny said with a smile. 

“She is, but see Donny here’s the thing. She’s...Japanese.”

Donny’s smile fell immediately, and the silence that fell afterward was tense. Donny finally broke it after another eternity. “Oh…”

“Oh.” Julia agreed. They fell into tense silence. Now it was broken by her. “Donny, I know you went through a lot back there but—”

“What’s she like?” He cut her off, smile oh so clearly strained, but yet still there. “Is she funny, smart, shy? What’s her favorite color?” 

“You’ll have to find out.” Julia said with a slight smirk. “Visiting hours are tomorrow at three.” 

Donny looked up and gave a short laugh. “Guess I will.” 

They didn’t discuss it for the rest of the evening.

That night, he turned over to Julia as she climbed into bed. “I-I think Michael would have been proud that you were drawn to her. That you didn’t let it deter you.” He told her. Julia smiled softly. 

“I think he would have been too.”

Now _she_ turned to her husband. “Sara didn’t kill Michael, Donny, and neither did you.” 

“I know.” He responds, and he repeats it to himself over and over again as he enjoys yet another sleepless night. _I know_. 

* * *

Donny shouldn’t have been so nervous about this. He was meeting a _10 year old_ , for God’s sake, not Bess Truman. Still, he stood in front of the mirror, fidgeting with his tie as Julia finished the final touches on her lipstick. 

“You look fine Donny, give it a rest.” 

He sighed. “Yeah, yeah, I know.” 

She came over and kissed him, gently. “You’ll be fine, she’ll love you.

“Besides, Donny ‘Bobby-sockers-swoon-at-my-charms’ Nova’s really afraid of being around a bunch of teenage girls?”

He snorted. “No, it’s just—”

“You don’t have to make a good impression Donny. You just have to be yourself.”

Julia kissed him again and held out her arm. “Shall we?”

“We shall.”

Donald Novitski was not supposed to fall in love with a 10 year old Japanese girl from Painesville, Ohio. And yet, he did.

Sara Watanabe was 10 years old, and about to be 11 next month. She was bright, kind, and had a wicked sense of humor. Her favorite color was pink, and she enjoyed drawing and music. She dabbled in piano (!) and thought Frank Sinatra was one of the worst musicians alive. It was as if God had crafted her specially for him. Donny had to stop himself from walking out the door with her right then and there. 

She was a fan of the Donny Nova Band, but she didn’t care that they were Donny Nova and Julia Trojan. All Sara cared about was that they were there for her. 

(Donny told himself that was his biggest concern, and his mind, for once, let him leave it at that). They spent hours with her, laughing and talking and drawing and playing, and Donny promised to give Sara proper piano lessons. They scheduled the official paper signing for Tuesday at 1.

On the bus ride home they also discussed how they were going to tell the other guys. They both agreed that letting them know ahead of time was best. It was agreed that they would break the news after rehearsal on Monday.

Donny smiled and bowed as the bar workers applauded them that night. He went ahead and packed up, but stopped the band before anyone could leave. “Julia and I have an announcement to make.”

They all waited expectantly. Donny gestured to Julia. “Jules?”

She stepped forward and cleared her throat. “I have been thinking about our life recently, and I talked about it with Donny, and we both came to the conclusion that our life wasn’t quite complete. It was...missing something, or rather, someone. A little someone, a little girl.” She paused and continued. “We discussed it and decided that we would like to adopt a daughter, and we will be, as of tomorrow. Her name is Sara Wantanabe, and while I’m sure that name might throw you guys off, I assure you that Sara is one of the kindest, most amazing girls you will ever meet. Does anyone have any questions?”

There was a silence, until finally Jimmy asked “Have you met her yet?” 

“Yes,” Donny said. “And, like Julia said, she’s amazing. She thinks Sinatra’s one of the worst musicians alive.” 

“Well, of course Donny was won over.” Davy joked. Donny rolled his eyes but smiled. 

“Well, if you two are happy, then so am I.” Jimmy said. Wayne agreed.

“You deserve it.”

“I’m sure she’s brilliant.” Johnny said. “I can’t wait to meet her.”

“If she’s good enough for Nova, she’s good enough for me.” Nick voiced. Davy said the same. Donny and Julia smiled and hugged their friends. 

“Thank you.” She said. “Thank you.” It was unanimous that the public could wait before being informed of this change. 

As they rode home Tuesday afternoon, with Sara tucked between him and Julia, fast asleep, Donny looked up at the sky and sadly smiled. 

_I wish this were you_. He thought. _And I’m also glad it’s not. I just hope I’m making you proud, Michael._

And as he lowered his head back towards his sleeping daughter, Donny could have sworn he almost saw a wink out of the corner of his eye.

  
  
  


**Author's Note:**

> Hi friends! This is my first Bandstand fic on here, I hope you liked it! I am always open to constructive criticism.


End file.
